


Young and Beautiful

by RebDominion



Category: The Lord of the Rings - All Media Types
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-01-30
Updated: 2014-01-30
Packaged: 2018-01-10 13:49:45
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,699
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1160428
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RebDominion/pseuds/RebDominion
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>As Aragorn begins to age he fears that he is no longer the ranger that Legolas fell in love with. His mortality soon becomes a more intimidating threat than it has ever been before, which leaves him feeling guilty and fearful of what is to become of Legolas after his passing.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Young and Beautiful

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! This is my first Lord of the Rings fan fiction. I have wanted to write about Aragorn and Legolas for quite some time, and am rather proud of this. Feedback would be greatly appreciated. I hope you enjoy reading this!

The early morning sun poured through the large windows of the palace and enveloped all in golden light. Aragorn gazed at the elf in his arms and a small smiled played across his face. Legolas rest his head upon Aragorn’s chest and draped one of his legs across Aragorn’s waist, while the other was entangled within the bed sheets. One of his delicate hands rest upon Aragorn’s shoulder and his breaths were deep and shallow as he slept. 

His flaxen hair fanned out on the vacant pillow beside him and shone like gold in the sunlight. Aragorn could not help but reach out and run his fingers through it. Aragorn had gripped Legolas’ hair countless times yet remained amazed at how it slipped through his calloused fingers like silk. It reminded him of the nights he spent braiding Legolas’ hair during the time of the Fellowship. A warm feeling began to spread throughout his chest, which often happened when he thought of the early days of their love. The days in which they had just discovered the impossibly deep connection that they shared, and had made love rough and fast and clung onto each other for dear life afterwards because they were fearful of what the next battle had in store for them. 

Legolas stirred in his sleep and rolled onto his back. He had not aged a day since Aragorn and he met for the first time in Rivendell many years ago. His body frame remained lithe, and his eyes still shone bright with innocence. There were still traces of the youthful glow that emanated from him during battle, and it was prominent whenever Legolas would gaze at Aragorn. This was the same glow that filled Aragorn’s heart and mind with warmth and made him feel young again. 

Aragorn had aged significantly. He was often fatigued and lacked energy, and found that he was losing his strength as well as his masculine frame. He could no longer shoot a bow as precisely as Legolas, and found that he had a hard time keeping up with him. Aragorn’s hair was beginning to grey, which was due to a combination of the mortal aging process as well as the many burdens of Gondor that he carried. His need for adventures was nonexistent now, and he often wanted nothing more than to shut himself within his study for the entire day. 

He knew that he was no longer the young ranger that Legolas had fallen in love with, and it was beginning to eat at his very being. 

Aragorn felt as if he had robbed Legolas of his life because of his mortality. Though the two knew that Aragorn would eventually depart from the physical world and leave Legolas behind, it was often nothing more than a distant thought. Though the thought was beginning to resurface within Aragorn’s mind and was becoming a cold reality that he could not escape.

Aragorn had questioned whether or not he should discuss the matter with Legolas. Set aside the emotional trauma of it all, Legolas still had a life to live and there were things that needed to be taken care of. Aragorn feared what Legolas would do after his passing. Where he would go, and whether or not he would find love again. Aragorn had tried to speak to Legolas about it on multiple occasions. Though once his lover’s gaze met his own, he found it impossible to speak. ‘Not here, not right now.’ Aragorn would constantly tell himself. He could not burden Legolas with the vicious reality. 

“Something troubles you.” Legolas spoke, though his eyes remained closed. “I am fine. Go back to sleep.” Aragorn reassured, his voice low and raspy. Legolas let out a long sigh before slowly opening his eyes. The blue orbs were bright and full of life. He reached his arms above his head and stretched, his muscles prominent on his bare chest and shoulders. He turned to look at Aragorn. 

“I cannot sleep when you are tense. I can feel it.” Legolas’ voice was gentle, and Aragorn found it comforting. Though it often carried the harsh tone of a warrior, it delivered words of comfort and love that whisked Aragorn away to another world. A world where there was no fear, and no death, and he could stay with Legolas until the end of time. 

“Talk to me, my love.” Legolas propped himself up on his elbow and rested his head on his hand. Aragorn averted his gaze to the large window in front of him. If he were to say the words, he could not say them directly to Legolas. No matter how many times they had been spoken, it was never directly from Aragorn to Legolas. It was typically from another elf that did their best to warn Legolas of the future, or attempted to persuade him out of his union with Aragorn. Though they had a glimpse of the future then, the words still remained empty to them in some twisted way. 

“I am going to die.” Aragorn put it rather bluntly. His voice was barely audible, and cut through the silence like a knife. Though they seemed to have no affect on Legolas. “Yes.” Legolas responded with a simple shrug of his shoulders. “Is it death that you fear?” He questioned, prying into Aragorn’s mind. “Not exactly.” Aragorn’s response was short, and was the only thing that he could manage to choke out. Tears welled up in his eyes and seemed to sting more than an Orc’s arrow. The warm feeling in his chest that had previously engulfed him was now replaced with an unfamiliar feeling that resembled ice. He wanted nothing more than for that feeling to go away, but as the moments passed it did nothing but get colder. 

Aragorn swallowed heavily before speaking up, “I am aging Legolas. My youth is fading. My energy is draining and I have lost all of my strength. I can barely keep up with you.” There was a long pause, and Legolas listened intently. He had sensed that something like this was coming. Arwen had questioned Legolas long ago on whether Aragorn had voiced his feelings on his mortality given that the end was near. However Legolas had tuned her out, and would not listen unless it was coming from his husband directly. 

“You are still so young in the Elven realm. You have spent most of your life at war. You should be living a satisfying life now that is filled with happiness and good adventure. I can no longer give that to you. I am no longer the ranger that you fell in love with all those years ago.” Aragorn dropped his tone. Though he could feel Legolas’ eyes boring into him, he could not bear to look at them for fear that he would burst into tears. He felt as if everything he had ever known, everything that he had ever worked and lived for was suddenly at stake. 

Legolas reached up and took Aragorn’s hands within his own. “Look at me.” He said quietly, searching for Aragorn’s gaze. Aragorn did not move, but simply tightened his grip on Legolas’ hands. “Estel... Please look at me.” He hooked his fingers under Aragorn’s chin and turned his head. Legolas felt his heart drop as he peered into Aragorn’s glassy eyes. Regardless of the many years that they had been together, Legolas had only witnessed Aragorn cry once in his life. He could still recall the sound of the mans sobs as if it were yesterday, and it made him feel as if someone had a firm grasp on his heart and was slowly pulling it out of his chest. 

“You are right. You are not the ranger that I fell in love with. You are so much more.” Legolas cupped Aragorn’s face in his hands. His beard felt rough against his palms. “There is nothing more that I want in this life than to be with you. You have gifted me with a life that is better than I have ever known, and have filled me with happiness that I believed to be unreal. Aragorn, you are the only reason that I made it through all of those battles. I hoped to have a life with you someday, and that was the only reason why I clung onto the little hope that I had.” Legolas felt his own eyes well up with tears. His words had hit Aragorn hard, and Aragorn had closed his eyes and leaned into the elf’s touch. “Mortality will tear us apart.” Aragorn’s voice wavered. Legolas shook his head. 

“For some time, yes. Though I am not sure that I will last long without you. We will meet again, my love. When this life is over we will meet in a world where we can be together until the end of time.” Legolas whispered, and tears were beginning to stream down his face. He had somehow made his way into Aragorn’s lap, and when Aragorn opened his eyes he saw nothing but Legolas’ face and the champagne curtain that was his hair. He could not help but smile at the words that were being spoken to him. They put his mind at ease, and made his heart swell. 

Legolas intertwined he and Aragorn’s fingers. “You are my moon and stars. You are my world.” Legolas spoke carefully, and pressed his forehead to Aragorn’s. Aragorn pulled Legolas down and connected their lips, kissing him hard. Legolas let go of his hands and laced his fingers in Aragorn’s hair. The two sat like this for a moment, returning the love they shared for each other and feeling as if nothing mattered but that moment in time. Aragorn soon let go and murmured against Legolas’ lips, “You are my treasure.” 

Legolas pressed their foreheads together again. “I love you.” He stated with a smile, only to be kissed gently once more. “As I love you.” Aragorn wrapped his arms around Legolas and held him close, burying his face in his hair and inhaling his scent. Legolas soon did the same, and nuzzled the crook of Aragorn’s neck. “Forever, my king. Forever.”


End file.
